Lindsey's Top 10 Christmas Movies

Seeing as how Christmas is in full swing and most of us are either done with school for awhile, out of work for a few days or just arrived in town to visit family for the holidays, it's time to start watching those warm hearted Christmas movies. I'll be honest I've been watching them for the past month. But perhaps most of you wait until the few days leading up to this blessed holiday to pop the DVD in. Regardless, here are my top 10 favorites. I'm no movie critic so don't expect these to be the greatest films of all time. Just the one's I love the most!

10. The Preacher's Wife (1996)

I know that the original (The Bishop's Wife) may be classic, but this version makes me cry and laugh at the same time. The story of miracles and a family changing for the better around Christmas time is one that will never grow old. And who wouldn't love to have Denzel as their guardian angel?

9. The Santa Clause (1994)

This has been a favorite of mine since it first came out. A lover of Tim Allen, I just had to see this! He's so funny and lovable that it's hard to resist. Plus, the idea that Santa Clause continues over time because men put on this suit when he dies is ingenious. If you don't believe in Santa now, you certainly will once the film is over.

8. We're No Angels (1955)

Funny, funny, funny is all I really have to say. If you have not seen this Humphrey Bogart caper, then you are sincerely missing out. Bogart, Aldo Ray and Peter Ustinov play a trio of charming prison inmate escapees who end up being more helpful than hurtful. Though this may not seem Christmasy don't worry, it is. The three create such a lovely holiday atmosphere you would swear they were "angels".

7. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

If you've ever had a lot of family stay with you over the Christmas season, you will love this movie. Not only is it a hilarious addition to the Chevy Chase National Lampoon series, but it will help you to laugh at your current predicament and perhaps realize that your own family isn't so bad. Hey, at least you don't have a brother-in-law who shows up on your driveway with a beat-up trailer filled with his families waste which he then proceeds to dump down your storm drain. Right?

6. Home Alone/Home Alone 2 (1990)

I know there are two movies listed here but it's so hard to choose between the original home christmas burglar beat down and the New York christmas burglar beat down. In the original Kevin gets to be home all by himself, but a Christmas in New York with all sorts of crazy adventures is irresistible.

5. White Christmas (1954)

Who isn't dreaming of a white christmas? And who wouldn't want to be swooned by Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney? This film not only gives us some of the traditional christmas songs we sing today, but when two GI's chase two sisters to Vermont and end up helping their old general, it will warm your heart as well.

4. Scrooge (1970)

With the mounds of Scrooge and A Christmas Carol films out there, it's hard to really pick one that is a favorite. But I have. In this version, a young Albert Finney portrays the decrepit miser who "humbugs" Christmas at every turn. Now this is a musical and you may not think you would want to see Ebinezer Scrooge singing show tunes, but to me it all comes so natural. Finney, who is a fantastic Scrooge, does an amazing job as well as the rest of the supporting cast.

3. Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

Now I may get a lot of you gasping at this choice as it is not the original with Natalie Wood, but I said these are my favorite christmas movies not the best out there! This is the story of a little girl who is two old for her own good. Though she and her mother do not believe in Santa Clause, that doesn't stop a man named Kris Kringle from trying to convince them. And in the process he convinces the entire state of New York.

2. A Christmas Story (1983)

I don't even think I need to explain why I've picked this one. Anyone who, as a child, wanted something for Christmas that they knew was a long "shot" can relate to this nostalgic look at a young boy and his mission for a Red Ryder BB gun. Now if that doesn't make the whole movie for you the smoking furnace, frozen tongues, foul-mouthed flat tires and "electric-sex gleaming in the window" will.

1. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

This is my number one choice because of what it stands for. Jimmy Stewart is a man who has always done for others, forsaking his own future and desires but finds that life is not what he expected it would be. To me it shows us that we each touch the lives of others in ways we aren't aware of. I bet the people you know would have a very different life without you in it. Let this film show you that.